What would you spend $1000 on?

Am terribly sleep deprived and only up for Meaningless Drivel right now! So.. you get a $1000 bonus... what would you spend it on?

So far i have bought some apple rootstocks, and some luffa seeds. The rest is going into House Mortgage/Land/Partners Surgery fund. But that doesn't stop me dreaming about what I would have bought if it were 'free money!'

My habit when I get small windfalls (hey, it's happened a few times) is to spend a symbolic amount on "something nice for me" (which in my case would probably be a hard-to-get fruit tree or a small order of heirloom seeds) so that I feel better about being responsible with the remainder. In my current circumstances "responsible" means spending it on deferred maintenance items (new tires, old bills, overdue dentistry).

I already had the scions so the rootstocks were fairly obvious! Not sure what I will do with 10 apple trees as I only have 1/5th of an acre (and it already has 9 fruit trees squashed onto it!), perhaps guerilla-planting in the park will be called for? but they were brilliant cider-varieties, and free-scions- so I couldn't miss the opportunity!

I've also gotten some cultivated blackberry canes (when the the optin is 'buy some blackberry canes or pay postage- then it is basically free to buy more plants!)

To understand my top of the head reply, I should tell you that we've been on our land for quite a while and have trees, food-bearing shrubs, grapes, etc - plus have friends on the hill below us who run an organic nursery and trade us for seedlings (incl heritage varieties). Plus our buildings are in good shape and we don't need to invest in vehicles, carpentry equipment, etc at the moment.

Last big expenditure of near $1000 was for a MIG welder and 240volt extension cord - very good investment. If I hadn't already spent on that, I'd be planning on doing so.

I'd love both a persimmon and a pomegranate! Don't have the climate for them though- which is something money can't fix! I had considered a greenhouse pomegranate- but need to get the greenhouse first!

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

I only buy plants that fit in the budget, or get cuttings from neighbors. It's an important skill to find ways to get plants on the cheap and raise them into an investment. One lesson that always stuck with me -- No one got rich during the California Gold Rush mining gold. Only the businesses that supplied the miners got rich, mining supplies, railroads, timber, pack animals, food. Which translates to, don't spend big chunks of money on hobbies (and, yeah, I consider home improvement and even growing my own food, a hobby) because only the people you bought the stuff from will get rich.

If I could really spend the money (and I can't in good conscience spend it on me!) I think I would build a greenhouse. And not just a little glass-garden greenhouse (already have one of those!), but a beautiful victorian-style glass structure, with a climate battery underneath, and a hammock (Ok, I'd probbaly need some more money!).

Michael Cox

Posts: 1772

Location: Kent, UK - Zone 8

61

posted 1 year ago

1

Charli Wilson wrote:

Michael Cox wrote:More beehives!

Woo! bees are amazing. I hope to get into beekeeping one day.

Just do it! It doesn't need to be expensive. And now is the time of year... swarm season is coming up.

the gear is the most expensive part if you buy it. Bee hives are something you can build (with basic woodworking tools) very cheap, and it doesn't have to fit the industry standards if you don't mind having wonky gear. I've even seen hive bodies made form old barn boards. you can have the bees build their own foundation from top bars and save on buying foundation/frames.

I know this has been said already, but trees and plants of course. My foundation trees of choice would be things like black locust, hybrid poplar, paulownia, Osage orange, bee bee trees(Tetradium daniellii), Russian olive, and autumn olive. Then some edible perennials such as yacon, sunchoke, earth pea, perennial wheat, taro, asparagus, moso bamboo, groundnuts, and Chinese mountain yam. This may seem like too much, but I'd rather get variety that can spread, than a lot of a few things. Especially since I don't know if all of them will adapt as well to my climate as I hope.

Michael Cox wrote: Just do it! It doesn't need to be expensive. And now is the time of year... swarm season is coming up.

I would love to- but don't have time this year.. however it's something I intend to pursue for next year! The allotment plot I have, the previous owner used to keep bees on it- and no one else on the plots keeps them, so it would be the ideal place.

It amuses me how the responses in this thread (and also in the thread about nonpermaculture hobbies) all turn right back into supporting and furthering permaculture. This site seems filled with people who live "a labor of love".

If I had an extra thousand dollars of mad money, I'd probably try to hire someone to finish those odds and ends of little tasks that weigh on us, without actually getting completed. I don't know of any task that we're not capable of on our own, but sometimes we build mental blocks against simple things. Hiring someone else to do these would feel like buying some peace of mind.

Casie Becker wrote:If I had an extra thousand dollars of mad money, I'd probably try to hire someone to finish those odds and ends of little tasks that weigh on us, without actually getting completed. I don't know of any task that we're not capable of on our own, but sometimes we build mental blocks against simple things. Hiring someone else to do these would feel like buying some peace of mind.

That I can completely understand! I have a million and one little jobs that I'm perfectly capable of doing- but it is finding time and space to do them all! Having said that, my experiences with hiring tradesmen to do stuff for me has usually been dismal and given me even more work to do afterwards- but that's just my luck!

We actually just had this happen, where we felt like we could spend a large amount at once. We bought an electric lawn mower and a spinning wheel and a totally frivolous overnight in a motel with a pool and a hot tub with the grandkids

EDIT to add my 'Meadow Creature' broadfork that is due today...went over $1000 total, a bit in the end, but not too bad

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"In the garden of gentle sanity, May you be bombarded by coconuts of wakefulness.” ~ Chogyam Trungpa

Casie Becker wrote:If I had an extra thousand dollars of mad money, I'd probably try to hire someone to finish those odds and ends of little tasks that weigh on us, without actually getting completed. I don't know of any task that we're not capable of on our own, but sometimes we build mental blocks against simple things. Hiring someone else to do these would feel like buying some peace of mind.

That I can completely understand! I have a million and one little jobs that I'm perfectly capable of doing- but it is finding time and space to do them all! Having said that, my experiences with hiring tradesmen to do stuff for me has usually been dismal and given me even more work to do afterwards- but that's just my luck!

Fortunately we have a large extended family that moved in here (very very very long story, some of it's political) but they are tradesmen and very good at what they do. I have hired them for a few jobs and been pleased with the work. I can do some things but I'm not that good at it, and paying to have the work done was worth it. You can get the luck of the draw though when you hire someone else. (and in my town there are a number of things they don't care if you do yourself, but if you hire someone THEN they need permits and inspect it). Doesn't mean I'm not politely out of the way, observing, and there if they need something (fetcher) to keep them at the task I'm paying them for. I also learn then for next time.

Right now though I'd settle for the tractor fix and going to get my firebrick if I had that kind of windfall... there's a hundred ways I could spend $1000, that's enough to actually buy something.

Casie Becker wrote:If I had an extra thousand dollars of mad money, ....

That I can completely understand! I have a million and one little jobs that I'm perfectly capable of doing- but it is finding time and space to do them all! Having said that, my experiences with hiring tradesmen to do stuff for me has usually been dismal and given me even more work to do afterwards- but that's just my luck!

That is also how I would spend my mad money [if I had any], Charli: Hiring someone to do the backbreaking things I cannot do anymore [because, you guessed, I've been doing them so far and my back is again out of whack]
When I first hired this man, he did not know how to plant a tree, a garden, take care of my bees or my chickens. The trick is to shadow your worker(s) until you are confident that they will do it correctly. Also, pay them right, either in money or in produce or combination ... and praises for everything he did well. I wrote him a recommendation and he had a job for a while. (He has to take care of him mom and does not "present well" for an office job, so he is not very employable. But he is a nice fellow and has become a hard worker.
He still needs directions, but he will dig new holes for the trees but the mentoring created a nice working friendship and I could not be happier. He appreciates a boss lady who pays on time, gives him praise, allows flexible hours...(Channel your inner teacher and mentor. Rarely does a worker come ready and trained) Courage!

$10.00 is a donation. $1,000 is an investment, $1,000,000 is a purchase.

Earth berm aquaponics based green house is on mine. For that one I hope to tap the waste stream from the localconcrete outfit so boards and plastic for forms would be on the list. The other piece here would be 750 feet of 4" drain tile pipe for the earth banking part so that I could work on getting buried while I work on the rest. So say $375 for pipe and say $325 for form materials and some rebar.

Plants are on the list. Mostly still want to find a variety of raspberry that will handle my weather and soil.

Hives are on the long term list. This year the goal is mason bees though.

1) Poultry net electric fence and charger so they can express their chickeness moreso than in their tractors.
2) Scythe for mowing the orchard (maintenance costs on our high-wheel mower really add up - and its far less meditative and not as good for mulch).
3) A mister and other basic propagation supplies to expand the nursery.

If I had 1000 dollars drop into my lap I would pay down the things that got bumped because I paid a tad under a 1000 dollars for an emergency cat operation. That is not a euphemism, my cat needed a life saving surgery that totaled 958 dollars. Now I have to protect this cat from harm for at least 20 years to get my money back, sort of.

Wyatt Barnes wrote:If I had 1000 dollars drop into my lap I would pay down the things that got bumped because I paid a tad under a 1000 dollars for an emergency cat operation. That is not a euphemism, my cat needed a life saving surgery that totaled 958 dollars. Now I have to protect this cat from harm for at least 20 years to get my money back, sort of.

If you DID NOT have that to offset, what would you do with the 'windfall'?

Wyatt Barnes

Posts: 313

7

posted 1 year ago

The list is long but I suppose if I had a true windfall that I was given with the stipulation to not just pay bills I would go to a farm auction and come back with things I think I need. Enjoyable and useful.

Time. I would put in the emergency fund,or pay down debt, all in an effort to buy more time.
The fence I need around my lot is already there- in peices. Part of the joy of my homesteading efforts is doing things myself.

Other than that, I would love a trailer and a hitch for my van. Free poop is out there waiting for a man with the right equipment!

Darn you Dan Boone, voice of reason.
Yes to maintenance on Avalanche that has seen a ton of West Virginia winding rough roads. Due for bearings, brakes and rotors all the way around. 4x4 so I will have a local mechanic do it.
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But if I had my way I would love a nice greenhouse, I could do with the rebar, electrical conduit and PVC pipe variety.
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My laptop is 8+ years old and giving me a hard time, plan on getting my 8 year old son a new one in June for his birthday.
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A nice trucker's GPS, the Navigo style sometimes gets funky.
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I would like to take the family to King's Island amusement park this summer.
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The dreaded storage locker in Arizona with stuff rotting away.

Honestly? I'd buy a ticket to this AT course that's happening this summer, and then I'd take the remaining money to pay a wet nurse, so I could actually go an hour without nursing and retain some information

I would love to get a Husqvarna chainsaw. The eucalyptus trees all over the property help feed the goats, yet they grow fast in CA. After cutting at 6 feet, and 8 years later, they are back almost the same size. a renewable resource. (I've been using a 30 inch bow saw. ) Also, buy the wood so that I may build a bee hive from wood, that way, the money goes further. Buy enough old strain Alfalfa to seed the fields. Finally, an artificial insemination tank would help grow the herd. I'd love to create a farm CARE Package! Fun to think what a mere 1 K could do. If I couldn't do all this, it would be a down payment on a freeze drier.

For those who want a greenhouse, I saw a FREE potting shed. With a lot of friends AND RENTING A CAR TRAILER, we rolled it onto the trailer and up onto our property, then added windows on one side. A whole walls of windows, for very little, we have an 8 foot and 8 foot high of growing space for starting vegetables, with shelves and growing fluorescents. Just saying, that if a person can find a starter shed and can make it come to their home, a person can start their vegetables. Your dream is as close as the free ads, telephone poles to roll it, friends to move it and the rental of a car trailer and truck.

permaculture is a more symbiotic relationship with nature so I can be even lazier. Read tiny ad:

The $50 and Up Underground House Book by Mike Oehler - digital download